This Cubs Fan With Down Syndrome

Sang The National Anthem at Wrigley

And It’s Amazing

I usually get a huge lump in my throat when I hear the National Anthem. . .

followed very closely by tears in my eyes;

It just gets me

and I kind of really like being

G O T T E N. . .

but this rendition did both at the same time and a little more:

After raising more than $37,000 for Special Olympics Illinois, Cubs fan Stefan Xidas, who has Down syndrome, had his wish granted last Monday night before the Cubs game against the Milwaukee Brewers. In front of a crowd of roughly 38,000 fans, he finally got the chance to sing the national anthem at Wrigley Field. And it was just a touching moment for Stefan and for everyone involved.

“It’s the best moment I could ever imagine,”

Stefan said before he took the field to sing the anthem in front of the crowd.

How did Stefan get this opportunity? It started last month when his two childhood friends, Tommy Molitor and John Rosinski, helped him create a GoFundMe page to collect donations for Special Olympics Illinois.

He wrote a letter to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts on the fundraising page, Xidas who is 30 years old wrote:

I’d like to make a deal with Tom Ricketts, the owner of the Chicago Cubs. If I’m able to raise $5,000 for the Special Olympics Organization, Tom Ricketts will let me sing the National Anthem at a Cubs game.

What an amazing moment. . .

This is not a political statement about standing/kneeling, bowing, or saluting during the National Anthem so much as it is about

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